Best Bet Work From Home Employers

Unlike the all-virtual companies we listed elsewhere, the companies listed on this page generally consider work-from-home arrangements a perk that is earned once employees have proven themselves. For the majority of them, telecommuting is a part-time arrangement.

When approaching these companies, keep in mind that just as you wouldn’t want to give an employer the impression that their vacation policy is your biggest interest, it’s not a good idea to waltz into your first interview demanding telework.

The Guide to the Best Companies for Flexible Jobs is a free searchable database of over 15,000 pre-screened and researched companies who have offered flexible jobs (telecommuting, freelance, flextime, and part-time) in the past.

What will you find with this Guide? FlexJobs says, “We’ve started off by showing the Top 100 Companies for Flexible Jobs, and you can also search by popular job categories, location, and awards and accolades such as Fortune 500. Each company profile includes unique company descriptions, job posting history, company headquarters, and website.”

Working Mother Magazine’s Annual Round-Up of 100 Best Companies

Working Mother Magazine does an annual round-up of the “100 Best Companies” for working parents.

Below are excerpts from their list for those companies that offer telecommuting. Visit their web site for the latest list along with all the details about the flexible work and family-friendly programs each company offers. The city listed with each entry is their main office though many offer jobs throughout the country.

Bank of America (Charlotte NC)
# Employees: 166,761
Provides banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management services. My Work telecommuting program at headquarters and in Boston helps associates avoid long commutes by allowing them to work from home or from a satellite office.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (New York NY)
# Employees: 17,138
FLEX APPEAL 79% of staffers use flextime, telecommuting and job-sharing. Benefits are available to those who work just 14 hours a week.

Bronson Healthcare Group Inc. (Kalamazoo MI)
# Employees: 3,264
Operate a network of hospitals, clinics, physicians’ practices and home health-care and insurance services
FLEX APPEAL 30% of all employees compress their schedules, while 16% flex their hours. A smaller number telecommute, work part-time or job-share.

Capital One Financial Corp. (McLean VA)
# Employees: 10,866
Provide credit cards, loans and other financial services
FLEX APPEAL Many employees telecommute and work compressed hours but the majority flex on a casual basis, coming in a little later in the morning after dropping the kids off at school or leaving during the day for kid-related events..

CJW Medical Center (Richmond VA)
# Employees: 3,446
Provide medical and emergency services for a 758-bed hospital
FLEX APPEAL More than 75% of employees flex their hours, work part-time or part-year, telecommute or compress their workweeks. Work/life balance training is mandatory for all new managers.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (New York NY)
# Employees: 5,656
Produce a variety of personal-care, oral-care and household products
FLEX APPEAL With the approval of their managers, staffers can come in late or leave early, telecommute, job-share, work a compressed week or arrange sabbaticals. A uniform application process for flex schedules ensures equity.

Discovery Communications Inc. (Silver Spring MD)
# Employees: 3,259
Operate cable networks, media, websites and retail stores; provide digital educational products to schools and homes
FLEX APPEAL About 60% of staffers make use of the company’s liberal flextime policy last year, which allows them to set their own hours or telecommute with the approval of their managers.

First National Bank (Omaha NE)
# Employees: 4,012
Provide competitively priced financial services
FLEX APPEAL About half of employees used flextime, and about a quarter take advantage of a compressed work schedule. The company also offers telecommuting and job-share options. Employees need to work just 20 hours a week to keep their health insurance.

Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn MI)
# Employees: 132,844
Manufacture and distribute cars and trucks in 200 markets across six continents
FLEX APPEAL Offers flextime, compressed work schedules, job-sharing and telecommuting. Only 16 hours of work a week qualify an employee for health insurance.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (Palo Alto CA)
Provide IT products and services globally
# Employees: 54,637
FLEX APPEAL More than 70% of staffers use some form of flexible work arrangement. Many flexed their schedules, job-shared, worked part-time or telecommuted.

IBM Corp. (Armonk NY)
Provide a wide range of services, solutions, and technologies
# Employees: 131,150
FLEX APPEAL Offers flextime, compressed work schedules, part-time options, and telecommuting, without penalizing employees who choose these benefits in terms of their career development or promotion opportunities.

IKEA North America Services LLC (Plymouth Meeting PA)
Manufacture, sell, and distribute home furnishings
# Employees: 10,389
FLEX APPEAL About half of all employees have some kind of flexible work arrangement. They may compress their work schedules, telecommute and job-share.

The McGraw-Hill Companies (New York NY)
Publish financial services, education and business information
# Employees: 14,096
FLEX APPEAL More than 60% of the employees worked at home at least some of the time last year.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. (East Hanover NJ)
Develop and manufacture pharmaceuticals
# Employees: 11,698
FLEX APPEAL The telecommuting program, for which the firm provides BlackBerrys and laptops is growing. The employees who recently piloted the program reported up to 40% improvement in their work/life balance.

Principal Financial Group (Des Moines IA)
Offer businesses and individuals a range of financial products and services
# Employees: 12,767
FLEX APPEAL More than half of all employees took advantage of flextime last year. More than 1,800 employees were provided with home-based computers, office equipment, and software.

Texas Instruments Inc. (Dallas TX)
Develop semiconductor and computer technology
# Employees: 15,652
FLEX APPEAL As long as employees get their work done, they can set their own schedules–even change them daily. More than half of all staffers flex their schedules and telecommute

The Timberland Co. (Stratham NH)
Manufacture footwear, apparel and accessories
# Employees: 1,997
FLEX APPEAL Almost half of all employees (43%) flex their schedules, while a smaller group job-share, work from home or compress their hours. Part-timers only need to work 16 hours per week to receive health benefits.

Wells Fargo & Co. (San Francisco CA)
Provide personal banking and other financial services
# Employees: 156,320
FLEX APPEAL About a third of employees use flextime; other popular options include job-sharing, telecommuting and working a part-year schedule.